In response to Dale Sorenson's piece, "When will we have diversity of opinion on 'the gap'?" [Viewpoints, Feb. 21], it is difficult to imagine a forum that entertains a greater diversity of viewpoints than the Wednesday Journal.

Greetings to all at Wednesday Journal and the suburbs it serves. My family and I enjoyed living in Oak Park before I moved to a large attractive retirement complex in Williamsville, N.Y., 11 years ago. I'm writing to applaud the superb public television documentary Forgotten Genius [NOVA, Feb. 6], featuring Dr. Percy Julian. It portrayed the goals, accomplishments, and sad obstacles of an outstanding scientist and fine citizen and his family.

I have been a part of four community caucuses and two years ago chaired the District 200 Caucus. I believe that, facilitated objectively, the caucus process serves the community well and should be continued.

Thank you for the wonderful article on my aunt, Sister Nona McGreal. She is a remarkable woman who achieved so much at a time when women did not pursue those opportunities. She was born and raised in Waukegan, where her sister, my mother, still lives.

I've been a homeowner in Oak Park for over two decades. I'm here for the quality of life. I put up with the high taxes and crime-two burglaries, several garage break-ins and my wife mugged-to enjoy the active, diverse community we are.

In its second article on property taxes, the Vision Community Action Party (VCA) addresses what village government can and can't do to keep high, rapidly rising taxes from making Oak Park unaffordable to many:

The single most important issue we face as a village is the rising cost of government. Since 2001, the annual tax collected to support schools, parks, and other village services has risen a whopping $34 million, driving taxes up and crushing family budgets.